Atonement
by Tetra Seleno
Summary: [One-shot] Renault-centric. "This is my atonement, milady... we all have to repent a little."


**Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem. It belongs to Nintendo and Intelligent Systems.**

The Sniper before him glared, and fired off an arrow from his Silver Bow. Even in his old age, Renault was able to dodge the arrow with a quick and elegant sidestep to the left, balanced himself and produced his Divine tome a second later. _Hmm. I've gotten slow._

Quick as can be, he opened the tome, his fingers brushing through its pages. The bishop recited the inscription for the spell, and raised his Fortify staff to the sky. Then, in his deep and regal tone, he called out, "_Divine_!"

A beam of yellow light descended from the skies, and engulfed the unfortunate Sniper in its holy glory. The Sniper screamed in agony as the light transformed itself into sparks of light, burning across his skin. Renault watched with pity. _Forgive me, whoever you are... but you struck first._ He inclined his head.

"Renault!" The bishop blinked, and turned his head.

The Lady Lyndis rushed across the field, her dark green clothing stained with blood, and her forest green hair, out of its usual high ponytail, spilled across her shoulders. "Your Grace, are you unharmed...?"

Renault shook his head. "No, I'm fine, milady. But, please don't concern yourself with my own health – "he gestured towards the blood stains on her tunic, "– when you should be concerned with your own."

Lyn smiled, and reached behind her to tie her hair back. Renault frowned. "Milady Lyndis, please, I could use my Fortify staff, and –"

Lyn shook her head, and finished tying her hair. "Your Grace, I told you that I was fine. And you needn't worry for my own wounds." She reached into her satchel and produced a half-empty vulnerary. "I've been able to stop the bleeding, and the pain's stopped. Now all that's left is for it to heal naturally."

"Ah, I see," said Renault, "then I was at fault. Forgive me, milady."

Lyn shook her head again. "It's nothing, Your Grace. Please don't concern yourself over me; I've dragged you out of the safety of your own temple to help us in our battle – if anything, _I_ am the one at fault, not you."

Renault reluctantly nodded. "If you say so, Lady Lyndis."

Lyn smiled at the older man. "Now, Your Grace, if you're ready, we should head back to camp. Our tactician will want to meet our latest recruit." ( Renault's eyebrows rose at the mention of a tactician; not what he was expecting, at any rate. )

Lyn marched forward, and Renault followed. The two walked on in silence; they were fortunate that the Black Fang had not ambushed them. Finally, Lyn broke the silence with a troubling question for the old bishop, "Your Grace, may I ask you a question?" Renault nodded in response. The Lycian lord bit her lip, and turned to face him.

"Why did you become a bishop of St. Elimine, Your Grace?"

Renault stopped dead in his tracks. "Why... do you want to know?"

Lyn turned to him and shrugged. "I've always wondered about this sort of thing, actually. I mean, I know why I became a swordsman, but... well, Lucius and Serra have never told me about why they became servants of St. Elimine. I was hoping... that maybe you could," she admitted sheepishly.

Renault inhaled deeply, and raised his head to the sky. Painful, long-restrained memories bubbled up to the surface of his mind.

Countless men lying before him, dead; his sword and clothing stained with their blood.

A lone child, screaming loudly at the death of his parents.

Killing his best friend over a simple misunderstanding.

His surviving victims staring at him with malice as he left them to die on the battlefield.

Renault sighed deeply. It was... too much to bear.

Lyn frowned. "...Your Grace? Are you alright?"

Renault smiled slightly. "Sorry. I was just... reminiscing, you could say..."

"Oh! I see, then, Your Grace," Lyn nodded.

"Anyway, I suppose I might as well ask you about why I am a bishop now..." Renault lifted his eyes up back to the sky, "I've... done some things I'm not proud of. I hated myself for what I did. And, sometimes... I still do."  
"Your Grace..."

Renault shook his head. "Please... don't pity me. I know I made some mistakes... but that's why I must repent."

Lyn frowned. "'Repent'? Repent for what, dare I ask?"

"I... won't say. I'm still too ashamed to even admit it." He sighed, and lowered his eyes to meet Lyn's gaze. "What I _will_ tell you is that I am a servant of St. Elimine for what I have done. I can only hope she can forgive me for all that I have done. I know that I won't forgive myself. But, who knows? Maybe she won't forgive me," he said bitterly.

"Your Grace, I'm certain that – "

Renault chuckled. "It's alright, Lyndis. Don't trouble yourself over me."

"If you're certain, Your Grace," Lyn sighed, "but... why do you feel the need to repent?"

Renault's expression became serious and solemn; his eyes seem to harden with intense emotion. "We, as humans, seek atonement in various forms: forgiveness, penance, suffering – you get the idea. This, milady, is my attonement... because we all need to repent a little."

Lyn nodded in understanding.

_All comments, thoughts, and criticism would be appreciated._

_Please read and review._


End file.
